Native Son (1940) is a novel written by the American author Richard Wright. It tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s. Thomas accidentally kills a white woman at a time when racism is at its peak and he pays the price for it.
First edition
Canada Lee as Bigger Thomas in the original Broadway production of Native Son (1941), produced and directed by Orson Welles
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an American author of novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially related to the plight of African Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries suffering discrimination and violence. His best known works include the novella collection Uncle Tom's Children (1938), the novel Native Son (1940), and the memoir Black Boy (1945). Literary critics believe his work helped change race relations in the United States in the mid-20th century.
Wright in a 1939 photograph by Carl Van Vechten
A historic marker in Natchez, Mississippi, commemorating Richard Wright, who was born near the city
Canada Lee as Bigger Thomas in the Orson Welles production of Native Son (1941)
Plaque commemorating Wright's residence in Paris, at 14, rue Monsieur le Prince.